By: A-dec
The amount you pay for dental equipment goes beyond the initial acquisition cost—making it critical to invest in well-designed, high-quality, reliable options from a trustworthy manufacturer like A-dec.
How Much Does Your Equipment Really Cost?
Saving money up front might seem like a good deal, but if the equipment you invest in isn’t high-quality, you’ll pay more over time. Make sure you are comparing the total cost, not just the initial cost.
When you invest in dental equipment, it’s important to get it right the first time. Ideally, the delivery systems, chairs, and furniture you purchase will last for 20 years or more, serving as a core part of your practice as you integrate new technologies and grow. But if your only focus as a buyer is centered on the initial cost, you may find yourself stuck with subpar equipment that breaks down frequently or keeps you from working efficiently.
The truth is, that not all dental equipment is created equal. While a lower price tag might be attractive, it’s just a portion of what you’ll end up paying over the lifetime of the equipment. What’s one of the biggest costs you’ll incur? Lost revenue during repairs and maintenance that must be performed on delivery units and chairs.
“Downtime is the enemy. If the equipment doesn’t work, you don’t make any money,” said Bruce Benzel, a territory manager with A-dec. “It doesn’t matter what you paid for the equipment. If it doesn’t allow you to see patients, what good is it? Good equipment is critical to the success and operation of your dental practice.”
What else plays into the total cost of ownership for delivery systems and chairs? There’s longevity, design simplicity that allows for quick, easy repairs, and the after-sale service the company provides. For cabinetry, some of the biggest factors are durability and easy integration with common dental tools. If any of these areas are lacking, your bank account will take a hit down the road.
While it’s easy to just look at the acquisition cost when investing in dental equipment, these purchases are too critical to your practice’s success to focus on that alone. You have to think about the quality of the equipment: Is it well-built? Will it help improve efficiencies? Will it stand the test of time? Is maintenance easy? Is the warranty good? When you partner with a manufacturer like A-dec, you know the answer to those questions is “yes.”
Dr. Meredith Gantos chose to partner with A-dec when she opened her practice a few years ago in Naperville, IL. For her, it was a no-brainer. She had used A-dec equipment in dental school and knew it was of the highest quality—which is exactly what she wanted for her practice and her patients.
“A-dec is a company you don’t have to call on a lot, because their equipment just works,” she said. “There’s their reputation and the understanding that there’s quality. The same level of thought and detail I put into my dentistry and into my office design is the same level of thought and detail that goes into manufacturing this equipment.”
Reliability Starts with the Manufacturing Process
Instead of assembling equipment, and bringing in parts and pieces from various vendors, A-dec is a true dental manufacturer. A-dec makes most of the raw materials in-house, A-dec Territory Manager Tim Palmer said, giving them more control over the final outcome and ensuring a better product goes out the door. If something’s off, they find out sooner in the process rather than hearing about a problem after the equipment has already been installed, or realizing there’s an issue among the thousands of parts they just ordered and they can’t move forward until it’s corrected.
The employees who design the equipment work on the same property as those who machine it, allowing them to easily interact and learn from each other, Palmer said, another advantage. And as an engineering company, A-dec has more engineers on staff than sales people, putting the focus on building the high-quality equipment dentists need to practice efficiently and comfortably.
“A lot of other companies are assemblers. We start from scratch and build probably 80% of what goes into the product,” Palmer said. “When you can be vertically integrated and take control of the quality of each component, the sum total has a higher quality to it. We also use LEAN manufacturing, which is designed to move through the process as efficiently as possible. These are what we call invisible differences—we do things other companies won’t because we’re manufacturing everything ourselves.”
The Power of Simplicity
Many delivery units and chairs have multiple circuit boards running through them, making the equipment complex and difficult to fix when there’s a problem. Dentists might find themselves down an operatory for a week or more while they wait for the part they need to get their equipment back up and running. A-dec chairs and delivery units have one circuit board, A-dec Territory Manager Bob Matus said, with air and water moving through a reliable brass in the delivery system’s control block to “make that bur on the handpiece spin so dentistry can be performed.”
The control block is the core of every A-dec delivery system. The solid corrosion-resistant alloys are matched with a configuration that requires very few moving parts, keeping the design simple. Because there are fewer components that can fail, A-dec equipment doesn’t need repaired nearly as often as other options, Palmer said. Dentists can handle most repairs and maintenance themselves, but when they do need to call an experienced service tech in, the equipment’s thorough, careful engineering results in quick, easy repairs—and that means less down time for the practice.
“If you buy lower-quality equipment, you have to do more maintenance, and you don’t get the longevity,” Benzel said. “It comes down to how much time there is between service intervals and how long the equipment will work.”
Founders Ken and Joan Austin’s goal was to keep A-dec equipment simple and serviceable, Benzel said. They wanted to provide equipment that did everything it was supposed to do, giving dentists one less thing to worry about. Of course, it also had to last a minimum of 20 years, with many products surpassing that benchmark—including carts that have served a dental school for 40 years.
“If you have lower-quality equipment, you’re always dealing with problems, like water leaks, Palmer said. That leads to frustration throughout the day and adds to the complexity of what you do. It’s important to pick something that’s going to work correctly from the beginning. When you buy high-quality equipment, it gives you peace of mind. You know it’s something you can count on.”
After-Sale Service
Once you invest in A-dec equipment, you’re not just left to figure it all out on your own. The company prides itself on offering top-notch customer service, with reps trained on the ins and outs of current and past equipment lines available by phone 12 hours a day, five days a week, Matus said. You’ll talk to an actual person who’s ready to help you troubleshoot problems or quickly answer questions. Remember, the goal is to avoid downtime and the associated costs. Prompt customer service helps with that.
A-dec territory managers are also trained on the equipment and can help ensure you get the most out of your investment. They can offer guidance on ergonomic positioning, for example, leading to more comfortable days and career longevity. Local reps are also there to answer questions and provide guidance as dentists build their operatories.
Unlike other companies, A-dec has been known to service products outside the warranty if there is a problem stemming from a manufacture or design issue, Benzel said. For example, he recently visited a dentist who had inherited an 18-year-old A-dec chair from the previous practice owner. He was having problems with the chair, so he reached out to A-dec. Instead of charging him for a repair or suggesting he buy a new chair, A-dec replaced the part that was causing the issue for free—saving the doctor a significant amount of money.
“A-dec stands behind their products,” Benzel said. “I’m delivering a part at no charge 17 years outside the warranty. If it’s our fault, we’ll take care of it. There isn’t another company in the dental industry that does what A-dec does.”
What to Consider with Furniture
Cabinetry from A-dec’s Inspire line is built for dentistry. Everything you need is integrated into the cabinets. If you have cabinets installed by a local shop instead, you might spend less up front, but you’ll have to pay extra to add items like electrical outlets, sinks and floating shelves. That’s all included with Inspire.
Another benefit? You can take these cabinets with you if you change locations. You don’t have to worry about investing in new cabinets, saving you money and headaches as you prepare
your new space. The cabinetry also helps improve efficiencies and allows you to practice comfortably. The 591 12 o’clock cabinet, for example, serves as the control center for the operatory, ensuring everything is within arm’s reach.
“The heartbeat of the operatory is the 591 treatment console,” Matus said. “It’s where dentistry starts and stops. It’s like the cockpit of the unit.”
A Trusted Partner for the Dental Practice
Purchasing dental equipment is a long-term commitment. The delivery unit, chair, and cabinetry you select will be part of your practice for at least 20 years—so it’s critical to make the right choice.
When doing the math, consider the total cost of ownership, not just the acquisition cost. While you might pay a little more upfront, the higher-quality, simply designed equipment requires less maintenance and repairs, significantly reducing the lost revenue that comes from downtime, as well as the scheduling hassles it causes. Top-notch customer service and knowledgeable techs who can quickly fix issues are also part of the A-dec advantage, ensuring your equipment is always working so you can treat patients uninterrupted. And when you invest in furniture designed specifically for dentistry, you can easily add what you need without having to reconfigure anything.
“The acquisition cost of other equipment may be less,” Benzel said, “but how many times do you have to buy it to equal the longevity of an A-dec chair or delivery system? There’s what you pay today and the sum total of what you put into servicing it. With A-dec, it’s a minimal amount.”
The Equipment
A closer look at the features that make A-dec equipment stand out.
The dental delivery system, chair, and furniture you invest in should allow you to practice dentistry comfortably and efficiently. A-dec equipment and cabinetry does both. Doctors and assistants can work with hands at the heart level for optimal ergonomics, and with everything they need within reach so no one ever has to get up during the procedure.
Here’s a closer look at the benefits of the 500 series equipment as well as the Inspire cabinetry from A-dec:
The Delivery Unit
- The plug-and-play platform makes it easy to integrate new technologies as your practice grows; you don’t have to purchase everything at once.
- Positive positioning on the delivery system arm keeps the unit from drifting during procedures. An air brake locks it in place so it won’t move until you’re ready.
- LED indicators light up when a handpiece is lifted so you know which ones to adjust as you’re working.
- The delivery unit is engineered to move air and water through the brass control block with a minimal amount of componentry for added reliability.
- Adjustments can be made with one hand.
- It’s possible to easily shift from left- to-right-handed delivery. The centrally located handle and screen are reachable and visible from either side.
- Six positions on the control head allow you to integrate almost any combination of technologies.
The Chair
- The thin, flexible backrest provides better oral access.
- Pressure mapping for enhanced patient comfort
- The double articulating gliding headrest eliminates the need to maneuver around the chair.
- Precision hydraulic motion allows for quiet, gentle stops and starts during patient positioning for almost undetectable movement.
- The virtual pivot synchronizes movement with the natural motion of the patient. There’s no readjusting when the chair is reclined or returned.
- The stingray-shaped backrest fully supports the patient’s back and shoulders.
- Sturdy, multi-position armrests solidly support patients for easy entry and exit.
- Ergonomic baseplate design makes it possible to get closer to the patient and work in a natural position.
- Low base-down point allows you to work comfortably regardless of height.
- 60o swivel with brake gives you 30o rotation on each side of center.
Inspire Dental Furniture
Like the delivery unit and chair, A-dec’s Inspire dental cabinets are designed to last for 20 years.
Features include:
- Lights, monitors and other equipment can be mounted to the cabinets. Steel support columns built inside the cabinets support the extra weight and keep the cabinets sturdy.
- The cabinets are made of high grade particleboard, which is critical for the doors. Opening and closing the doors over a 20 year period could cause screws to loosen; this prevents that.
- High-pressure laminates at high touch points help ensure the cabinets withstand harsh components like moisture and being bumped into by the stool
- The treatment console serves as the cockpit, with everything easy to access comfortably. Floating shelves, for example, minimize large movements and help reduce muscle strain. This also enhances efficiency.
